Playing StarCraft 2 competitively has become an art of deceptive warfare. Intelligence is key in gaining the advantage and most StarCraft 2 veterans use the tried-and-tested tactic of sending a worker drone, SCV etc. to scout for early game information. With this, players adjust accordingly to the enemy’s tactics and remain one step ahead.
Jeffrey “Sjow” Brusi – The Blind Terran
But for this StarCraft 2 player, there is a certain leverage and freedom in remaining in the dark. With limited vision, this “Blind Terran” can still deliver the big victory. As a matter of fact, Jeffrey “Sjow” Brusi, the IEM European Champion 2011, insists that the early game scouting technique is not really needed and he explains why.
Sjow and the members of Team Dignitas are once again, pro-gamers of Razer, and they have expressed their willingness to deliver high quality games and in-game knowledge by providing us with this On Target Feature. The Blind Terran tells us the dynamics of his gaming philosophy and how foregoing early game scouting can be used to your advantage.
===========================================================================================
Sjow: “Greetings gamers of Razer! Let me start off by saying that scouting is indeed essential for winning big games in StarCraft 2. The obvious reason to scout is to gain the right information and react properly to what your opponent is doing. Not only will you see what strategy your enemy is doing, but you will also learn his base/army position. Knowing where the enemy is and how he moves will help you decide how you move your own army. For example, you play Zerg and you have two expansions.
Sjow: One expansion is far away from your natural expansion and your main. You see a Terran army move out towards your remote expansion and you realize you can’t protect it. Also you realize he moved almost his entire force to kill your expansion. You then get the opportunity to make a counterattack and put the situation in your favor.
Sjow believes that SCV’s should do what they do best: MINE
Sjow: “But that is a middle to end game scenario. I firmly believe that scouting at the early stages of the game is not a viable tactic to use. I have been criticized for using this technique and most say that the games I have lost are due to the fact that I did not send an SCV during the early phase of the games. Let me tell you right now that those games ended in defeat not because I lacked the early game vision, but plainly because I did not play good on that game. Some macro or micro mistakes may have caused this but rarely do things get out of hand because of the lack of early game scouting. What is my basis for this?”
Sjow: “Let’s say you’re battling against the Protoss and you send the standard 13 SCV scout. Once you reach his base you will be able to see his chronoboost count, how many gases he has and his Gateway, Cybernetics Core and his Pylon positions before he gets a stalker and end your SCV scouting.”
No early scout = more resources = more troops to own with
Sjow: “What can we actually get with this information? Maybe you can predict that he’s chronoboosting gateways to do an early pressure with zealots and stalkers. But even so you can still handle with the right micro so such information is useless. Especially on big maps with long rush distance it’s not a problem and can only be bothersome in the future.”
Sjow: “Even in Terran Vs. Terran or Terran Vs. Zerg scenarios, the intelligence you’ll be getting from early game scouting is the same as scouting later on with a marine. All of these are manageable with great micro skills.”
That probe should have been getting precious resources
Sjow: “Let’s say you’re still adamant in scouting early game. You get lucky and see his base with only 1 try and spot he has no Gateways, you can adjust accordingly knowing he is opting for a fast expansion strategy. But in a 4 player map, you only have 33% chance on spotting him and another 66% of not spotting the enemy on your first try. Scouting would have been in vain and it would’ve been better if your SCV was mining those extra minerals.”
Sjow: “Let’s say you still want to scout and the map is now a 2 player map. Scouting will help you by knowing how to react to his “cheese”. It might give you a few extra seconds but this little time is actually huge and gives you time to plan out how to deal with it. But if you’re confident in your micro skills like I am, you can manage these cheese tactics with ease.”
No need to scout. Great Micro helps your base survive harassments
Sjow: “So my conclusion this: The only reason to scout early is to be able to handle cheese. Such things are manageable even without scouting given you have good micro. To compensate for not scouting with my SCV, I instead opt for regularly scouting with my Marines or Hellions which basically doesn’t cost you any extra resources. I believe that such techniques should be practiced by more players.”
Sjow: “If you’re not a beginner and have good game sense and micro/macro skills, then I advise you to forego the early game scout and focus on mustering minerals and forces. Trust me, I’ve won games and championships this way. There is absolutely no reason for you not to gain the same benefits of this Blind Terran strategy.”
Who is harassing who now?
Remember, no early game scouting gives you:
+ Extra Minerals (faster tech, bigger army size early-mid game, mid game, late game)
+ Easier to handle early-mid game pressure due to bigger army size)
+ Learning to stay calm in pressured situation (due to last second spotting of cheese)
Only pursue this strategy if you have:
- Good Game Sense
- Not a beginner
- Great macro and micro skills
Location
Asia-Pacific
中国
香港
日本
한국
台灣
Australia
Россия
United Kingdom
Deutschland
France
Italia
España
Join us on Twitter
